


Axis Flowers

by otaku_potterhead



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, China has muscles fite me, Cinnamon rolls, F/M, Floriography if I can be bothered, Fluff, Humor, I'm honestly so proud of the title, M/M, The gay children, a touch of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-23 08:10:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13783359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otaku_potterhead/pseuds/otaku_potterhead
Summary: A burning dragon tattoo.That was all Kiku remembered from a hazy one night stand four years ago. Now, he does his best to put the past behind him. He takes up a job as a florist with his two good friends, determined for a fresh start.But just next door, amongst a group of mismatched tattoo artists, Yao's still searching for answers. Whether he will receive them, remains another question.





	Axis Flowers

"And we're getting the fresh spring flowers delivered today! It means we can get started on the spring bouquets and the shop will be less boring; it's always so gloomy in winter, don't you think? It's getting warmer as well, which is good. The heating broke down a couple of weeks ago and we had to wear several layers while we were in the shop, but we got it fixed yesterday, luckily! I think there's a market in the plaza today as well, maybe we could go try and sell some flowers-"

"Feli, calm down. Besides, we can't sell anything at the market, we didn't reserve a place."

"It'd still be fun!" Feli said cheerfully enough, his head craned around the side of his car seat to look at Kiku, who'd spent the whole ride silently nodding at the Italian's ramblings. "You'll love it there, I promise! Luddy got some paint and managed to decorate the sign, and we're planning to repaint the walls as well! Oh- what about bright blue?" he gently shook Ludwig's arm. "It'd bring out the colour of your eyes!"

Ludwig, who had winced at his nickname, gave a sigh. "Stop shaking me, it's dangerous."

Feliciano gave a proud smile. "You're always so careful, Luddy!"

"Mm." he murmured. Kiku could've sworn that his German friend's ears had turned red.

Before long, the car pulled into a small, shaded space behind the shop. Ludwig stopped the engine and the three stepped out onto the ground, with Feliciano as eager as a child in a toy store.

"C'mon, I'll show you around!" he exclaimed, hastily unlocking the back door and dashing inside. The Japanese half-heartedly followed, past a dank storage room and through a narrow corridor which smelled of damp.

"The corridor still needs cleaning out, but wait until you see the actual shop! It's amazing!" Feliciano's voice rang out from the end of the corridor, where a door stood ajar.

Kiku slowly pushed the door fully open and stepped inside, the damp smell turning into a fresh, floral aroma. Flowers burst out from every corner of the small shop, hanging from baskets on the ceiling and displayed on various shelves in every colour under the sun. The walls were painted canary yellow, looking sallow compared to the shock of flowers that rioted the shop.

His Italian friend was excitedly bounding around, sprucing up bouquets and meticulously checking each flower for bruises or marks. The raven-haired man stood awkwardly by the door, looking around the room.

It was still a miracle that the Italian somehow managed to convince his introverted friend to work at _Axis Flowers_. For a while, it had simply been Ludwig and Feliciano working in the shop, with Ludwig's brother Gilbert occasionally dropping by and causing more harm than good. 

"Sometimes, it's been rather difficult with just the two of us." said Ludwig, appearing behind Kiku with a box of fertiliser from the car boot. "I must thank you for offering to help us out."

"It's my pleasure. We are friends, after all."

The German nodded in agreement and placed the box on the counter, brushing at his clothes with his hands. "Right, well, we should get started on-"

"Wait, I almost forgot! Kiku's uniform arrived in the post yesterday!" said Feliciano, reaching over the counter and grabbing a parcel before merrily handing it to Kiku. He carefully opened it and pulled out an orange polo shirt, navy apron and khaki cargo pants, the same as the ones Feliciano and Ludwig were wearing.

"Thank you." he said politely.

"No problem!" Feliciano sat on the counter, swinging his legs nonchalantly. Ludwig frowned at him, but didn't comment.

"After you get changed, we can get started on arranging the spring flowers by type, age and colour so they can go into bouquets."

The Italian gave a pout. "But that takes at least three hours! Can we take a break first?"

"No, you cannot! The last time you asked that, you ended up falling asleep on the hydrangeas!"

"But-"

Suddenly, the conversation was cut off by a loud 'CRASH' from next door, followed by a string of inaudible shouting. Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose, now even more irritated.

"Those idiots." he muttered.

"What's wrong?" asked Kiku.

"We have a tattoo parlour next door to us, and the five of them are always causing havoc."

"Hey, remember that time they put dye in the vases outside and dyed the white carnations green?" piped up Feliciano. "It was actually kind of funny."

"It wasn't funny! Those carnations cost a lot to get!"

Feliciano chuckled and turned to Kiku. "You should've seen Luddy's face when he saw the carnations, he marched over to the parlour and yelled at them so loud you could hear it from the other side of the street!"

"And they'll get yelled at again if they don't stop fooling around." grumbled Ludwig. "We always get customers joking over the fact that there's a tattoo parlour right next to a flower shop. I don't even see why it's funny."

After that interruption, Kiku headed to a side room to change into his new uniform and the trio soon began sorting through the array of flowers on the counter. It was a simple task but, as Feliciano complained about, was extremely tedious. The Japanese soon found his mind wandering.

As an Animation Major, this new job was not something he seemed intent on enjoying, but nothing else was on the horizon. Currently, this job with Ludwig and Feliciano was his only choice. It wasn't a permanent fixture, he was still looking for companies hiring animators, but it was a slow process.

"So, Kiku," said Feliciano, jerking the Japanese out of his thoughts. "What about you?"

His friend blinked at him. "I'm sorry, what happened?"

"I was talking about Valentine's Day," he gave Kiku a playful nudge. "so, did you find yourself a special someone?"

"You know the answer."

"Oh, come on! There's bound to be someone!"

The dark-haired young man raised his eyebrows at his friend. "You say that every year." he turned back to the flowers. "I'm just not interested in anyone, and I never have been."

"Never? In your life?!"

_Just keep on sifting through the stems._

"Mm hm."

"I don't believe you."

His hand froze in midair. The Japanese turned to briefly stare at his curious friend with a deadpan expression before looking back at the petals. His dark eyes were a wall, concealing all signs that would give away a lie.

"Well, it's the truth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another fanfiction that has appeared from the depths of my procrastinating of schoolwork.
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment, it means a lot!


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